Precast concrete wall construction



April 17 1956 w. E. swANsoN PRECAST CONCRETE WALL CONSTRUCTION 2Sheets-Sheet l Filed March 17, 1950 Il 26/1! ZB l/l/. i SWA/V50INVENToR.

April 17, 1956 Filed March 17, 1950 w. E; swANsoN PRECAST CONCRETE WALLCONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 MPM IN V EN TOR.

TTORNE Y United States Patsnf 2,141,908 rnncasr coNc'RETi: WALLcoNsrRucrloN William E. SwansomWeehawken, N. l. i Application Marpa 17,l1950, senat No. 150,143-` 3 Claims. (ci. 7a2- 16) This invention relatesto building vconstruction and particularly to prefabricated buildingunits.

Anobject of the invention is' to provide a readily assembled buildingfrom prefabricatedunits, and to provide units of improved` constructionfor* the purpose.

An important object of the invention is to facilitate the erection of abuilding in assembly of the units and retain said units in propersupported position.

A more detailed object of the invention is to. provide a monolithicpanel or unit having window openings adapted to incorporate cornerwindows in a building when so desired. i

Another `object of the invention is' to provide an upright panel whichrwill stand by itself when set in the ground or in a hole in thefoundation.

A further object of the invention is to provide an upright panel havingits vertical reenforcement principally provided by a vertical central ormedial rib in the panel.

Yet other objects of the invention are to provide an upright panel witha reenforcing rod therein serving the additional function as a boltprotruding at the top of the panel for retention of a sill, header orother constructional part thereon; to provide a construction readilyaccommodating inclusion of .windows and doors between ribs of adjoiningunits or panels; to provide a unit fully capable of supporting a roof orother superstructure; to provide a construction likewise capable of usefor fencing purposes; and to avoid necessity for side or surfacebolts orwire loops to hold the units together.

Still further objects of the invention will appear to those skilled inthe art to which it appertains as the description proceeds, both bydirect reference thereto and by implication from the context.

Referring to the accompanying drawings in which like numerals ofreference indicate similar parts throughout the several views:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a building utilizing myimproved prefabricated units;

Fig. 2 is another perspective View of a portion of a building looking atthe inside thereof; and

Fig. 3 is an elevation of one full panel and a portion of an adjoiningpanel in assembled relation.

In the specic embodiment of the invention illustrated in said drawings',the reference numeral 20 designates a wall member generally, which maybe made singly for use as a unit in a side wall, as in Figs. l and 3, ormay be made with the units or portions at angles, such as right angles,for constituting corner units. Au essential feature of the inventionresides in the panelling and reenforcing of the units which arepreferably concrete. Heretofore it has been common practice to providepanels with reenforcing ribs around the edges thereof. Such ribs, whenof adequate strength for each unit, were of objectionably heavycross-section when brought together at the edges of two units. Accordingto the present invention, I- utilize longitudinal reenforcing ribsinwardly of the longitudinal edges of the units. For a normal "ice size,or single unit, a single longitudinal reenforcing rib 21 is employedsubstantially medially of the longitudinal side edges of the unit. Whenseveral such units are assembled, the panels between ribs will becomposed partly of a panel portion 22 of one unit and partly of a panelportion 22 of the adjacent unit, and the vertical reenforcing rib at themiddle of one unit is the side edge of the compounded panel, whereas theother side edge thereof is` the reenforcing rib of the adjacent unit.Similarly, where windows are to be included, half of the v windowopening 24v is provided in each of two adjacent units. A further featureof the invention comprises the provision of a post 25 as an integralpart of each unit used inthe side wall of the lower portion of thebuilding. The post is provided medially between side edges of the panelor of the units, and in vertical alignment with the vertical rib ofthatpanel. The vertical rib and post are `accordingly substantially anentity and carry distributed weight on opposite sides thereof involvedin the panel constructions. This feature of the invention avoids havinga split post with inherent weakness thereof for given dimensions. Itfurther enables each section to be completely installed in the assemblybefore applying an adjacent section. Partial suspension of one sectionpending application of anv adjacent section is thus avoided. l

The feature of medial longitudinal rib is not confined alone to sidewall members, but as shown in Fig. l, is a feature of ceiling and floorconstruction in which the units 20a have central ribs 21a longitudinallythereof medially between side edges of the units, thus, as abovedescribed, resulting in the building assembly in adjacent unitsproviding juxtaposed panel portions to make a complete panel between theribs of two units. The same feature may similarly be present inassemblies of several units' for roof construction, for walls used asfences, or elsewhere as found desirable. It is also within the scope ofthe invention to assemble two of the normal sidewall units adjacent toeach other at the corner of the building in place of the specialsingle-unit member of Fig. 2, and in Vsuch instance corner windowopenings may be provided which will be unobstructed by presence of anyrib or corner upright at the corner edge of the building.

Reference herein to the medial location of the longitudinal rib is to beunderstood not only with the normal or straight-wall side units, butalso with respect to corner units. Fig. 2 shows a corner unit 20b andtwo panel sections 22h having an included angle of 90 therebetween, butany angle may be used as called for by the building. The panel sectionsmatch each with a panel section of units in two Walls and the post 25baligned with the rib 2lb is located conveniently at the corner of thebuilding.

As shown, the rib may be provided with a longitudinal reenforcingmetallic rod 26 therein (see Fig. l) and if desired, the said rod may belonger than the panel and protrude at the end of the panel for joiningan adjacent building element to the said panel. Alternatively, theprovision of rods protruding from the end of the unit may be by a shortrod 27 less than the length of the unit. The protruding end of the rodin any event may preferably be screw threaded, `thereby enabling a woodor other header 28 to be attached.

As shown, each unit has' an upper transverse rib 31 and a lower orbottom transverse rib 32, both of which are disposed on the same face ofthe unit as the medial or vertical rib 21 or 2lb. The lower transverserib 32 rests on the foundation 33 and the upper transverse rib 31 `has.a mortise groove 34 longitudinally of and in its upper edge. The headerfor the several units is shown Patented Apr. 17, 195.6.

with an under section 35 thereof provided with a tenon tongue 36engaging in said groove.

Furthermore, the side or other edges of the units may have notches 29cut therein arranged to register in the assembly of adjacent units sothat cement can be applied therein to key the sections or units'together. It is also contemplated to embed wood or other cleats 30 inthe granolithic composition of the units to which inside iinish may beapplied after the walls of the present invention are erected.

Obviously, other combinations and constructions involving the inventiveconcept may be made, but the foregoing description and accompanyingillustrations are deemed suicient for an understanding of the inventionand further elaboration would be superfluous to persons skilled in thebuilding trade.

I claim:

1. A wall construction comprising a foundation and a plurality ofreinforced concrete units positioned in vertical edge to edgerelationship and disposed on said foundation, each unit including acentrally disposed rib and panels extending from opposite sides thereof,each panel constituting substantially one half of said unit, meansconnecting adjacent units along the vertical edges thereof, transverseribs along the upper and lower edges of said units projecting laterallyof said central rib and extending to the opposite side edges of saidunits, all of said ribs being of substantially equal thickness and beingpositioned on a common face of the units, the upper edge of each upperrib having a groove therein extending from side to side of the unit, thegrooves of the units being aligned, and a continuous header seated insaid grooves and extending across a plurality of said units, the lowertransverse rib being seated on said foundation, said central rib of eachunit projecting below the lower edge thereof and forming an anchoringpost, each anchoring post being embedded in said foundation.

2. The wall structure of claim 1 wherein the panels of one of said unitsare disposed in substantially rightangular relationship and constitute acorner unit.

3. The wall structure of claim l, wherein said means connecting adjacentpanels comprises substantially semicylindrical notches in the side edgesof said panels axially perpendicular to the panel faces, the notches ofadjacent units registering with each other thereby providingsubstantially cylindrical notches extending through the wall, and cementapplied in said notches keying said units together.

References Cited inthe le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,375,955Eldridge Apr. 26, i921 1,401,624 McEwen Dec. 27, 1921 1,462,622 PhelanJuly 24, 1923 1,495,896 Ferguson May 27, 1924 1,597,167 Pace Aug. 24,1926 2,043,697 Deichmann June 9, 1936 2,065,433 Dercum et al. Dec. 22,1936 2,124,430 Phillips July 19, 1938 2,560,731 Miller July 17, 1951

